Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout | Goose Island Beer Co.

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In comparison to last year's version, the Anjilanaka provides a sweeter and nuttier component that takes off the more aggressive elements of roast and dryness. Succulent as ever and still with impressions of chocolate covered espresso beans, this world class beer follows up on the inaugural beer very well. Although I prefer the heightened sense of espresso roast and restrained sweetness of last year, this young follow-up represents the brand in regal fashion!

2010 Release - Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso Beans

With so much anticipation, and with the success of the standard Bourbon County Brand Stout, there is no let down from the hype. This coffee infused BCS reminds me of chocolate covered espresso beans and the bourbon ball candies that we love so much here in the Bluegrass. Imagine my favorite espresso and my favorite stout hooked up at a great beery coffee shop and conceived an angelic brew.

The beer opens with a dead-on motor oil viscosity and color. A delicate crème forms with a roast-stained hue. Where the retention eventually succumbes to the alcohol and weight, the legging became more apparent. The low carbonation and visual weight of the beer adds to the mystique of its appearance.

Extremely seductive aromas of decedent cocoa, deeply roasted espresso, and bourbon all stand out in obvious stature. Lighter notes of cherry esters, licorice, and actual molasses help to round out the background attributes. The beer's aroma isn't overly complex but they show so much power, boldness, and harmony- this is the chick in the bar that you will intently make a fool of yourself just to catch her eye.

Flavors build even more, springboarding off of the powerful cocoa, espresso, and bourbon. But the thickness of the beer along with the creamy maltytness give even greater smoothness and melded taste making this beer way more drinkable than it should be; kinda malty-sweet-chocolatey like Whoppers malted milk candies. As the beer warms and deep in the finish, the molasses, licorice, and cherry flavors become much more apparant. Where hops are restrained, bitterness is achieved with the smooth bitterness of the carefully brewed espresso beans.

As expected, the beer is as thick, chewy, heavy, full, and as round as any beer that has crept into my mouth. And with the ultimate velvety textures, it drank much like a thick chocolate milkshake. The beer remains so very deep, lasting well into the finish and aftertaste.

It's crazy to talk that the coffee bean aging could possibly improve the Bourbon County Stout. I'm not sure that the Coffee Release is better but it's certainly not any worse.

Re-reviewing this to reflect inconsistencies with the 2015 batch. 2015 bottle poured into tulip glass. Nice dark coloration, with a thin head that dissipates immediately. Doesn't appear to coat the glass like the regular BCBS does, though it does leave some legs. Massive green pepper on the nose, so much so that it covers up most anything else, there is a bit of roasted malt or coffee aroma. The flavor starts out with a burnt coffee flavor, with a very sour finish, almost like sour cherries, and a uncharacteristically thin body. It would appear this beer is infected with some sort of wild yeast or bacteria judging by the sourness and loss of body and mouthfeel. Which sucks as the bcbcs was always my fav variant. This beer is a shadow of it's former self. I see other people mentioning the green pepper and sourness, yet still rating the beer over a 4.0...what's up with that?

*****
Pours a dark black color, with just a touch of amber on the edges when held to a light. Not much head to speak of, more of a brown colored sudsy layer, that forms a small, bubbly ring.

The aroma definitely has a coffee, vanilla and bourbon quality. However it's much more than just that, there are deep caramel notes, brown sugar and espresso. Just rich and creamy, I can tell there is some definite complexity to this beer.

The flavor is intensely complex. You're hit initially with a well developed espresso flavor combines with bouzy bourbon notes and a rich creamy quality. It finishes with a well developed a burn that doesn't overpower the roasted, bitter coffee flavors that round this beer out.

Full bodied and creamy mouthfeel. BCBCS really is impressive. So complexly flavored and I love that the coffee character can stand out amongst all the bourbony goodness. It is quite rich so I certainly can't drink much of it, but really who cares?

This beer is infected as others have stated. For those that bought in quantity and don't go looking for the latest infected beer news, they might have not have had a chance to send theirs back for a refund or exchange. Pretty sad the very short time frame that Inbev allowed for this, especially when the bottle clearly says "condition up to 5 years". These beers are known to get better with age, and those of u who age them, their most loyal customers, 3 months just don't cut it for a fair time-frame to get their money back.

A: The beer is jet black in color and poured with a thin mocha head that instantly faded away and left a thin ring of bubbles around the collar of the glass. As the beer warms up, it pours with a much larger head that also dissipates.
S: There is an intense aroma of bourbon and alcohol in the nose along with some hints of espresso beans.
T: Like the smell, the bourbon flavors really stand out in the overall taste, although unlike the regular Bourbon County Brand Stout these are balanced to some degree by the coffee and roasted malts. There are also some hints of oak.
M: It feels full-bodied and very viscous on the palate with a low amount of carbonation. There is warming from the alcohol in the finish.
D: This beer is definitely one that needs to be sipped given its strength; the intensity of the aromas and flavors will definitely wake you up. The addition of the coffee flavors makes the beer slightly more drinkable than Bourbon County Brand Stout.

After GI reporting off flavors, I decided to crack my bottle of coffee hoping that the negative reviews were exaggerated. Well, to my disappointment they were not. The beer had an overwhelmingly sour taste that completely dominated the beer and made it undrinkable. Imagine a berliner stout. No bourbon flavor at all due to the intense sour notes.. I had to drain pour the entire bottle after a few sips. Disappointed with how GI handled the situation as well, with the unclear deadline for refunds. I will not be standing in line next year, that's for sure.

Bottled Nov 7 2014, so it's got a year on it. Pours like bcbs but there was more tanish color to the head. Smells oaky, vanilla, mild coffee smell. Taste is superb. The coffee really combines well with the aged bourbon. This is one of the best beers I've had. I would like to try one with less aging to compare to get more coffee flavor.

2017: Tasted alongside the 2015 and 2017 BCS. Pours a dark black with a thin head that is gone in an instant. Smells of strong espresso, caramel, roasted malts, bourbon, and dark fruits. Tastes of espresso (not too much though), sweet chocolate, wood, bourbon, light caramel and toffee, dark fruits (plum, raisin), lots of sweetness, and very light vanilla. Heavy body with light carbonation. Overall probably one of the best if not the best barrel aged imperial stout I've tried. Superior to both BCSs.

Served as the grand finale for the goose island themed tasting. Short notes from 7/27/14. Bottled 11/15/13. Served in a snifter.

A&S: Dark black colored beer, oily residue on the top, likely from the added coffee. Head doesn't hang around all that much, but when it was present it was a light brown color. Very deep black coffee tones, smells like straight chilled black coffee. The aroma hangs out at the same level the whole tasting.

T&M: Not the most complex or evolving beer. I expected the potent coffee tones to mellow and for the beer to develop into this grand mixture of black coffee, dark chocolates, toffee, etc. However this flavors didn't really come to fruition. Boozy whiskey tones were also present. The taste stayed dominated by coffee the whole way through, it gave way a bit but not really all that much. Body was full and on the creamy side, carbonation was low.

Overall: I don't think it was the aging condition, because the goose island barleywine was superb, so I have no clue. Don't get me wrong this beer is still an very excellent beer I just wouldn't put it was the 2nd highest ranking beer on BA.

T - Very similar to the smell - mostly bourbon with hints of coffee and chocolate.

F - This is where is stands out to me when compared to KBS and SMS - extremely thick, creamy, and smooth.

O - I'm a huge fan of coffee stouts, and up until I had this SMS was my favorite beer. I think this is my new favorite. Big and robust feel is what sets it apart. I would like to try it a bit more fresh as I think some of the coffee has faded, but at this point it's probably more well balanced. Definitely worth seeking out if you have the opportunity.

A beer like this should allow the ability to rate higher than 100. Believe the hype and get some when you are able to. Smooth and silky with a subtle hint of the Abv. Drink it slow and savor, if you don't it will kick your rear.

2015 bottle poured into a snifter. Pumped I could find this prerelease at a local shop. Hope they don't get busted. Nevertheless, delicious beer. Not a huge coffee taste. The bourbon notes overpower everything else, though it is still very smooth. Tastes very similar to the BCBS regular, so I'm not going to lose any sleep if I can't find this tomorrow.

2015 review...I LOVE bcbcs.....my favorite beer of all time.....until 2015.....was very excited when i found many bottles of my favorite target....until i started opening them.. gusher after gusher......sour drain pours...this after being properly cellared....so disappointed to have hunted this down how i did to only realize all my scores are infected.....1748 time stamp.....hoping for better next year....

Perhaps the best stout I have ever had. The first sip was so amazing- with so many flavors coming forth. The coffee isn't overpowering. Chocolate and roasted goodness shine through. A beautiful beer in a distinguished bottle.

I got two bottles of the infected batches from 2015, this rating reflects both of these instances until I have an actual bottle that resembles that quality I have come to expect from Goose Island. Sorry mates.